Published: Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 25, 2014 at 4:54 p.m.

As a child with leukemia, Trevor Coe said he was never sad in the hospital because of the fun the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life brought children. Now he is giving back.

The 18-year-old West Henderson High senior said the only thing he wished he had more of during that time was physical activity. Inspired by his love of martial arts, Coe is partnering with local businesses to bring a fitness village to this year's Relay for Life, which runs from 6 p.m. May 16 to 6 a.m. May 17 at the WNC Agricultural Center, for his senior project.

“I was diagnosed when I was 6, so I knew back then there wasn't a lot to do with fitness,” Coe said. “You had a lot with medical treatment and everything, but there wasn't things for kids to do within the hospital (that had anything to do) with fitness.”

Coe recalled getting to play video games, air hockey and watch TV, but said he wished he would have had more opportunities to move around.

“For my senior project, I wanted to do something spectacular,” Coe said. “I am a cancer survivor, and I wanted something to give back for everything the American Cancer Society and Relay has done for me.”

For the past month, Coe has been visiting local businesses related to physical fitness to encourage them to become involved with Relay, whether they want to donate, make a team or set up a table within the fitness village.

“With this fitness village and everything, I really want to inspire kids that there is life after cancer, and one of the main things to have is hope,” Coe said. “You're not different from any other kid, you know; live your childhood even though you have a bump in the road, live this childhood because, I mean, I think that is one of the biggest things that really helped me. My parents kept me as a normal kid and they didn't treat me any differently. I had fun and I enjoyed every moment.”

Coe said there were quite a few sad moments during his battle with cancer, but overall the goodwill always stands out in his mind.

“I want to inspire cancer survivor kids, or kids dealing with cancer, that a laugh can go so much more than any treatment out there, and that's what I want to do with this Relay for Life,” Coe said.

The American Cancer Society's Staff Partner for the Henderson County Relay Erica Palmer said Coe's fitness village is a great way to bring prevention into Relay.

“The American Cancer society is talking a lot now about prevention with nutrition and physical activity, and so we're trying to bringing that mission into Relay a bit more and let folks know how they can help themselves prevent cancer by being physically active,” Palmer said. “Basically, Trevor is a leukemia survivor who works at a martial arts studio who is very active himself, and so he really wanted to do something that dealt with cancer patients and survivors and that kind of thing. Also, he wanted to incorporate his love of martial arts, so that was kind of how we together came up with the idea to really bring fitness aspects into Relay the night of the event.”

This year's Relay entertainment will include live music from the Joe Lasher Jr. country rock band, a Jazzercise performance, a belly dancer, Asheville Cloggers, a square dance team, the annual Mr. Relay fundraising competition and the Relay Olympic Games through the night, including limbo and musical chairs.

“We've got a (new) event called Little Prince and Little Princess,” Entertainment Chair Tina Watson said. “Any child that is under 10 years old right now can start raising money, and the girl and boy who raise the most money up until the night of Relay will be crowned by Miss Asheville Little Prince and Little Princess.”

Palmer said she has seen a lot of people come together through their shared bond of being a caregiver, a survivor, someone who has watched a loved one experience cancer, or someone who wants to help make sure that their children don't experience cancer.

In January 2014, Henderson County Relay for Life joined forces with Fletcher Relay for Life to hold one county event, instead of two.

“You have an amazing group of people with a range of talents and a range of experiences that have come together,” Palmer said. “Some bringing experiences of different styles of Relays together because they have the same mission, and it is just a really rewarding experience and really fulfilling to be around people who are so focused on making this world better, and making it better for people who unfortunately had to experience cancer either themselves or for a family member.”

The Henderson County commissioners and Henderson County City Council have declared May 11–17 as Relay for Life Week, during which local businesses and residents will show their support in the fight against cancer by displaying purple bows.

“One of the great things about Henderson County is that so many of our survivors participate, so you're able to see all of these wonderful folks from age 2 to age 102 who come together and who are excited about celebrating life,” Palmer said. “And I think that it is a thing the community as a whole needs in order to heal from the things that they have gone through with this terrible disease, and I think that by doing it together as one whole Henderson County, instead of doing it where there is a split in the county, I think that we're adding to that feeling of unity of 'we are one community coming together for something.'”

Bows are available for a suggested donation of $10 to the American Cancer Society's research, education, advocacy and patient services programs. For more information contact Erica.palmer@cancer.org. For more information on this year's Relay for Life of Henderson County or how to get involved visit www.relayforlife.org/HendersonNC.

<p>As a child with leukemia, Trevor Coe said he was never sad in the hospital because of the fun the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life brought children. Now he is giving back. </p><p>The 18-year-old West Henderson High senior said the only thing he wished he had more of during that time was physical activity. Inspired by his love of martial arts, Coe is partnering with local businesses to bring a fitness village to this year's Relay for Life, which runs from 6 p.m. May 16 to 6 a.m. May 17 at the WNC Agricultural Center, for his senior project.</p><p>“I was diagnosed when I was 6, so I knew back then there wasn't a lot to do with fitness,” Coe said. “You had a lot with medical treatment and everything, but there wasn't things for kids to do within the hospital (that had anything to do) with fitness.”</p><p>Coe recalled getting to play video games, air hockey and watch TV, but said he wished he would have had more opportunities to move around.</p><p>“For my senior project, I wanted to do something spectacular,” Coe said. “I am a cancer survivor, and I wanted something to give back for everything the American Cancer Society and Relay has done for me.”</p><p>For the past month, Coe has been visiting local businesses related to physical fitness to encourage them to become involved with Relay, whether they want to donate, make a team or set up a table within the fitness village. </p><p>“With this fitness village and everything, I really want to inspire kids that there is life after cancer, and one of the main things to have is hope,” Coe said. “You're not different from any other kid, you know; live your childhood even though you have a bump in the road, live this childhood because, I mean, I think that is one of the biggest things that really helped me. My parents kept me as a normal kid and they didn't treat me any differently. I had fun and I enjoyed every moment.”</p><p>Coe said there were quite a few sad moments during his battle with cancer, but overall the goodwill always stands out in his mind. </p><p>“I want to inspire cancer survivor kids, or kids dealing with cancer, that a laugh can go so much more than any treatment out there, and that's what I want to do with this Relay for Life,” Coe said. </p><p>The American Cancer Society's Staff Partner for the Henderson County Relay Erica Palmer said Coe's fitness village is a great way to bring prevention into Relay.</p><p>“The American Cancer society is talking a lot now about prevention with nutrition and physical activity, and so we're trying to bringing that mission into Relay a bit more and let folks know how they can help themselves prevent cancer by being physically active,” Palmer said. “Basically, Trevor is a leukemia survivor who works at a martial arts studio who is very active himself, and so he really wanted to do something that dealt with cancer patients and survivors and that kind of thing. Also, he wanted to incorporate his love of martial arts, so that was kind of how we together came up with the idea to really bring fitness aspects into Relay the night of the event.”</p><p>This year's Relay entertainment will include live music from the Joe Lasher Jr. country rock band, a Jazzercise performance, a belly dancer, Asheville Cloggers, a square dance team, the annual Mr. Relay fundraising competition and the Relay Olympic Games through the night, including limbo and musical chairs. </p><p>“We've got a (new) event called Little Prince and Little Princess,” Entertainment Chair Tina Watson said. “Any child that is under 10 years old right now can start raising money, and the girl and boy who raise the most money up until the night of Relay will be crowned by Miss Asheville Little Prince and Little Princess.”</p><p>Palmer said she has seen a lot of people come together through their shared bond of being a caregiver, a survivor, someone who has watched a loved one experience cancer, or someone who wants to help make sure that their children don't experience cancer.</p><p>In January 2014, Henderson County Relay for Life joined forces with Fletcher Relay for Life to hold one county event, instead of two. </p><p>“You have an amazing group of people with a range of talents and a range of experiences that have come together,” Palmer said. “Some bringing experiences of different styles of Relays together because they have the same mission, and it is just a really rewarding experience and really fulfilling to be around people who are so focused on making this world better, and making it better for people who unfortunately had to experience cancer either themselves or for a family member.”</p><p>The Henderson County commissioners and Henderson County City Council have declared May 11–17 as Relay for Life Week, during which local businesses and residents will show their support in the fight against cancer by displaying purple bows.</p><p>“One of the great things about Henderson County is that so many of our survivors participate, so you're able to see all of these wonderful folks from age 2 to age 102 who come together and who are excited about celebrating life,” Palmer said. “And I think that it is a thing the community as a whole needs in order to heal from the things that they have gone through with this terrible disease, and I think that by doing it together as one whole Henderson County, instead of doing it where there is a split in the county, I think that we're adding to that feeling of unity of 'we are one community coming together for something.'”</p><p>Bows are available for a suggested donation of $10 to the American Cancer Society's research, education, advocacy and patient services programs. For more information contact Erica.palmer@cancer.org. For more information on this year's Relay for Life of Henderson County or how to get involved visit www.relayforlife.org/HendersonNC.</p><p>Reach Bindewald at 694-7890 or renee.bindewald@blueirdgenow.com.</p>